COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER II

Description

SUMMARY

Under regular supervision, Communications Officer II is responsible for communicating with and dispatching public safety personnel. Incumbents respond to the emergency and distress calls; dispatch public safety personnel/officers respond to inquiries by the public and other public safety agencies; interact with city, county, state, and federal public safety personnel; and maintain records of all dispatches. Assists in the on-the-job training of Communication Offer I employees, advise in daily activities, and act in the role of Team Lead in the absence of the Supervisor.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

THE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING DUTIES. ADDITIONAL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS MAY BE IDENTIFIED BY THE CITY AND LISTED AS SUCH IN THE INCUMBENT’S PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ELEMENTS. VARIOUS TASKS MAY BE ASSIGNED UNDER EACH ESSENTIAL FUNCTION. THOSE THAT ARE LISTED UNDER THE EXAMPLES OF WORK ARE NOT ALL INCLUSIVE; THEY ARE EXAMPLES ONLY AND MAY BE AMEDED OR ADDED TO AS NEEDED BY THE CITY.

EXAMPLES OF WORK

Examples of work performance in this classification include, but are not limited to, the following tasks. These tasks may be amended, or other tasks may be assigned as necessary.

• Answer multiple incoming emergency 911 calls.
• Answer multiple incoming calls to the police department on non-emergency lines and reroute calls to other personnel as needed.
• Recognize TTY calls, emergency, and non-emergency, and effectively communicate with the caller.
• Understand and respond quickly and accurately to written and/oral directions, instructions, inquiries, and requests.
• Quickly evaluate and prioritize the urgency of calls.
• Must utilize their training and maintain communications with caller while remaining calm, resolve situations, prioritize, and make decisions in multiple, highly stressful, and potentially deteriorating situations.
• Question callers requesting dispatch to determine location of incident, nature of call, description of any suspects or suspect vehicles, appropriate personnel needed for the type of incident described, and phone number and name of caller.
• Utilize special techniques to handle erratic and hostile callers when necessary.
• Relay departmental SOP pre-arrival instructions to the caller
• Connect emergency callers to other agencies or coordinate with other agencies when the incident does not involve our jurisdiction or other agencies/jurisdictions are involved in the incident.
• Identifies the need to notify additional specialized resources such as Poison Control,
• American Medical Response, etc.
• Operates the phone system safely and reports any malfunction immediately to supervisor.

Radio Operator

• Monitor radio traffic on patrol (police) frequencies, rescue (fire) frequencies, and county- wide police and fire frequencies.
• Promptly respond to incoming incidents from radio traffic.   
• Dispatch appropriate personnel to emergency incidents inside and as required by mutual aid agreements, outside the city.
• Maintain a clear, monotone, professional tone over all radio frequencies.
• Monitor and respond to radio traffic during incident and act based upon information given by field personnel.
• Advise officers and fire personnel of any safety issues of locations based upon previous call history.
• Announces all points bulletins and other messages over the radio.
• Conducts periodic welfare checks of field personnel during incidents to determine status.
• Recognizes situational need to notify specific persons or agencies in emergency.
• Operate radio equipment safely and report any malfunctions immediately to supervisor.

CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) Operator

• Log information received from callers into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to streamline dispatch.
• Verify CAD accuracy of street addresses, response pattern advised by CAD system, and beat location of described incidents for appropriate dispatch.
• If CAD is unable to a validate location, Communications Officer must have a knowledge of jurisdiction including beat boundaries.
• If CAD is unable to give proper unit assignment, the Communication Officer must assign the appropriate number and type of units to respond to the incident.
• Add, update, or remove location alerts at various locations in the city based on need, call history, aggressive nature of residents, and other reasons as instructed by field personnel.
• Review call histories at incident locations to improve officer safety and response efficiency.
• Review suspects or caller information in arrest/report records for violent history, active warrants, or other information as needed by field personnel.
• Maintain accurate logs of important information during emergency and non-emergency incidents.

NCIC (National Crime Information Computer) Operator

• Query vehicle registration and/or driver’s license/person information for field personnel on traffic stops or other incidents; query III/criminal history information on persons; query wanted status of vehicles, persons, or property as requested by field personnel.
• Advise patrol officers of required information for entry of persons or property as missing, wanted, or stolen, respectively, on the NCIC database.
• Enter persons or property as missing, wanted, or stolen, respectively, on the NCIC database.
• Respond to hit requests sent by other agencies on entered persons or property.
• Coordinate patrol, investigations, and the administration to locate and recover persons or property as needed.
• Always maintain security of the NCIC computer.
• Maintain integrity of NCIC files entered or handled by the operator and any other persons who are allowed access to the files.
• Maintain records for all III/criminal history requests by officers and investigators.

Deputy Court Clerk

• Witness and sign uniform traffic citations as sworn by police officers.
• Witness and sign affidavits as sword by police officers and/or complainants.
• Receive cash bonds/fines after hours and issue proper receipts to the public.
• Maintain security and accuracy of the cash drawer and any received moneys for bonds or fines paid.
• Receive written bonds from bonds persons and send releases to holding facilities/jails as needed.
• As requested by field personnel, contact judges to assign bonds for arrestees, and when applicable, arrange for housing of juvenile arrestees in the appropriate holding facility.
• When requested, update bond information for inmates in holding facilities and advise those holding facilities of the new information.
• Coordinate officers, investigators, and administrators to fulfill the requests of holding facilities in which we have housed an arrestee.

Other Duties

• Contact off-duty personnel when directed by patrol supervisors for response to after- hours incidents.
• Receive and dispatch after-hours calls for public works and the street department.
• Keep records of library conference room activity and release the keys to persons renting the space.
• Assist field personnel with searches or management of arrestees while in the police department as needed.
• Advise supervisor(s) of any unsafe, illegal, or other harmful activity in the workplace which might compromise the police department or the safety of the public.
• Must be flexible and adaptable with the ability to multitask during any incident.
• Participate in scheduled training to maintain certification for state regulations.
• Keep the integrity and confidentiality of all persons and/or information received.
• Ability to work any shift, holidays, and weekends. Subject to on-call status.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Have and maintain a valid Mississippi drivers’ license.

Have and present an honorable discharge from military service if applicable.

Have and present a High School diploma or GED.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

No supervisory responsibilities.

The above essential duties and responsibilities are representative of the major obligations of the position. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary based upon departmental needs. Other duties may be assigned to the above consistent with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the job. Not all the duties may be assigned to a position.

The City of Brandon, MS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer. 

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

If a candidate believes he/she is qualified for the job although he/she does not have the minimum qualifications set forth below, he/she may request special consideration through substitution of related education and experience, demonstrating the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

High School graduate or GED equivalent along with the completion of minimum of two-years (64 semester hours) college work in an accredited junior college, college or university with major course work in communications or related technology subjects or honorable military dispatch service. 2-4 years dispatch service.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

These physical requirements are not exhaustive and additional job-related physical demands may be added to these by the city if the need arises. Corrective devices may be used to meet these physical requirements.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel’ reach with hands and arms’ and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit for long periods of time. Employee must be able to speak clearly and quickly. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is performed in officer environment and is occasionally loud with frequent interruptions and presentation of life and death situations. I understand the duties listed above are intended as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed and the omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position.

Applicants must submit the following forms

Copy of Valid Driver’s License, Social Security Card and/or U.S. Passport

Copy of DD Form 214 from military Service if applicable

Copy of any certifications, diplomas, or training certificates related to the position description.